


Sightseeing

by Apharine



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sun & Moon | Pokemon Sun & Moon Versions
Genre: Dark Past, F/M, Feelings Realization, Flirting, Fluff, Nanu is the best tour guide, but slowly bc poor Nanu is only just starting to put two and two together lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:35:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26682304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Apharine/pseuds/Apharine
Summary: Siane hadn't meant to wind up in Alola, under Nanu's care, while she recovered from a mysterious illness that left her prone to weakness and collapsing.  But now that she's here and getting stronger, she wants to see more of Ula'ula than just the rainy skies and the Po Town wall by Nanu's police station.  And who could be better suited to give her a tour than the Kahuna of the island himself?
Relationships: Kuchinashi | Nanu/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 17
Kudos: 22
Collections: AssuranceShipping (NanuxSiane) Fics





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [HybridDragoness](https://archiveofourown.org/users/HybridDragoness/gifts).



> Siane is an amazing OC who belongs to my friend HybridDragoness (she goes by the same handle here on AO3, on Tumblr, and on Twitter) - you can see Hybrid's amazing art of her (and learn more about her awesome backstory and her relationship with Nanu) here: https://hybriddragoness.tumblr.com/tagged/siane

“Is every day like this here?” Siane asks, gesturing vaguely out the window at the grey and looming clouds. It’s already started to drizzle, and she’s sure that by the afternoon, it’ll be pouring. Because here, on Route 17, where she’s staying with Nanu in his police department-slash-home, that just seems to be what the weather always does.

She’s hoping that Nanu will just say that it’s been an unusually bad stretch of monsoon season weather for the last….four weeks? Five? Siane’s a little foggy on exactly how long it had been, and she has the sudden feeling that time has been getting away from her while she’s been so weak.

But Nanu smirks, sipping at his coffee - black - and lowering the newspaper he’s reading, his shocking crimson eyes meeting hers from across the small kitchen table.

“Pretty much,” he responds easily. For a moment, Siane is sure he’s watching her for a reaction, but all she does is blink and look at him closely in return. He’s an odd one to figure out, in some regards - he reminds Siane, oddly, of some of the Pokemon she’s worked with as a conservator, back home. More specifically, he reminds her of the ones that don’t like humans very much. 

Except…there’s that light in his eyes, that light that he thinks he conceals. He thinks he’s so surly - and sometimes he is - and he thinks he’s negative in a way that puts her off. But Siane notices the little gleam of curiosity about him, and she knows exactly what it means. She’s seen it before, and she’s seen all the Pokemon with it come around, in the end.

“So,” Siane says, finishing her breakfast and sitting back. “The whole island’s like this?”

Nanu, who had been about to return to his newspaper, sets it down and sighs. A Meowth cries, brushing against his leg, and he automatically reaches down to pet it. Siane’s lips curl into a slight smile at the sight.

“No, of course not,” Nanu returns. “There’s a lot of variety on Ula’ula.”

Siane raises her eyebrows encouragingly.

“Like?” She prompts.

“There’s Malie City, of course, where the weather is typically nicer. We’ve got Hokulani Observatory - they picked their site on Mount Hokulani because it’s above the city lights and it’s almost always clear there. There’s the Haina Desert, too, and the Ula’Ula Meadow just off this Route, which is covered in flowers,” Nanu says, ticking things off on his fingers as he goes. 

“Wait - an actual desert? On this island?” Siane says, gesturing again out the window vaguely with a little snicker. It’s nearly impossible to imagine that there can be a place on this same landmass that isn’t absolutely smothered in rain and puddles. “You’re sure you’ve got that right?”

“I better,” Nanu grumbles, picking up the Meowth and setting it in his lap. “I’m Kahuna of ‘this island’, after all.” He does little finger quotes as he speaks, and Siane can’t resist the way her smile grows on her face at his unintentional antics. Nanu notices, though, and frowns at her. “What?”

“Well,” she says, careful to deflect. She’s learning that being too directly friendly with Nanu often puts him off, and she really doesn’t want to put him off just now. “I was just kind of thinking…I’m feeling better these days.”

“You nearly passed out before your shower yesterday,” Nanu says sardonically.

“Yeah, but that was like, the only time I had an issue all day,” Siane says, waving his concern off. Sure, he’d had to catch her, but still - she was doing better, and she hated feeling - or admitting to being - weak. “Don’t give me that look. I know I need to get more of my strength back. But I also need a change of scenery. I’m pretty sure I’m going to wind up with a Vitamin D deficiency here otherwise.”

To her surprise, Nanu actually makes a little snort through his nose that she thinks is supposed to be laughter.

“Vitamin D deficiency or not, you’re in no shape to be going galavanting around the island alone,” Nanu returns, his voice holding a little of that biting edge that he seems to think is so off-putting. 

“I know,” Siane shrugs easily. “That’s why I was hoping you’d come with me.”

Siane watches as Nanu takes a sharp breath in, his crimson eyes flashing.

“I have - things to do,” he mumbles, suddenly deflating and looking away.

“I thought it was your day off today,” Siane prods. She knows she’s being a little pushy - there were plenty of friends back home who would be quick to point that out in a moment like this - but she also knows it’s the only way she stands a chance at getting her way. And she needs to get her way. She needs to be stronger - not only for herself, but for all Aedis, too, and she won’t get that if she stays inside this police station forever.

The Meowth in Nanu’s lap jumps off and scampers away, interested in something across the room.

“Yeah. It’s my day off. Doesn’t mean I don’t have things to do around here,” Nanu returns, though the biting edge to his voice is gone.

“I can help you with whatever needs to be done tomorrow,” Siane offers.

“Oh? Then we could just as easily tour the island tomorrow,” Nanu quips, his eyes narrowing.

“I guess we could,” Siane acquiesces. “No reason why it’s gotta happen today, right?” Somehow, the ready admission seems to put Nanu off a little, though he covers it quickly and well, years of his police training likely kicking in at a moment’s notice.

A long silence stretches out between the two of them, and Nanu takes a sip of his coffee, his red eyes drilling into her. Siane tears her eyes away from the Kahuna, instead looking out the window again. The rain had picked up a little, and she traces one particularly fat raindrop as it rolls down the window, gathering other droplets in its path. As easily as she’d admitted that tomorrow worked just as well as today, spending another day doing nothing feels intolerable to her spirit, which is just bursting to be free.

“We can go today,” Nanu finally speaks up, setting his drained coffee cup down on the table.

“We can?” Siane says, her head whipping around to allow her gaze to refocus on Nanu. She could swear that the edges of his lips are turned up just the slightest bit - though it’s hard to see for sure at this distance.

“Yeah. You got me, girl. No reason I can’t do my stuff tomorrow, either, I guess,” the grey-haired man says. Siane’s foot bounces just a little in excitement, and her chest feels like it could explode at the thought of sightseeing and adventure.

“Well - thank you,” Siane says, a grin spreading across her features. She stands to clean her dishes and get ready to go, but immediately, a wave of dizziness hits her. She’d stood a little too fast, though she’s able to conceal this from Nanu by putting her hands flat on the table to brace herself. With the eagerness written all across her face, she’s pretty sure the move just comes across as excitement. “I promise you won’t regret this - we’ll get through everything you need done tomorrow. I’m actually really excited about this, you know. I _finally_ get to see Ula’Ula, and my tour guide is going to be the island’s own Kahuna!”

A crooked smile flashes across Nanu’s face for a moment.

“Finally get to see the island, huh? Didn’t know you’d been wanting to go for so long,” he comments, arching one eyebrow. 

“I’ve mentioned it, like, three or four times before now,” Siane laughs, standing up straight now that the dizziness had passed. She gathers up her dishes and sets off for the sink, flashing a teasing smile over her shoulder at Nanu. The man gathers his dishes and hovers close to her as she walks; he clearly doesn’t trust her on her feet just yet, which Siane figures is just as well at this juncture.

“Didn’t really think you were serious when you were saying that stuff, since you couldn’t make it to the door if you’d tried,” Nanu returns dryly. 

“Well, I was,” Siane says. “Serious, that is. And I really am excited about this. So thank you again.” She affixes the Kahuna with her best smile, and this time, she definitely sees the way his fingers fidget just a little on his coffee cup.

“Hm,” Nanu says. “You’re welcome, I guess.”

As Siane moves off to the side to put her rinsed dishes in the dishwasher, he scrubs at his coffee cup with a sponge, trying to get the ring of black out of the bottom and trying even more desperately to convince himself that he had agreeing to this just because he didn’t want her to keep bothering him about it. It had nothing to do with the fact that he felt a twinge of pride when he thought of all the radiant locations across the island - _his_ island - or that he wanted to see the look on this young woman’s face as she took them all in.

_You could have let her go alone,_ a small voice insists in the back of his mind. _Send Honchkrow with her. She’d be fine, and Honchkrow could fly her home if she were to have a problem._

But the thought of Siane, crumpled on the ground and hurt, alone, in a strange place, makes his heart clench a little. And why shouldn’t it? His job - both as a cop and a Kahuna - was to protect people. Whether Nanu liked it or not, he was a protector, and the young woman currently telling him she was going to go find some shoes for going out in had landed herself squarely in his protection.

“You’re going to want to change your clothes, too,” he calls after her, putting his coffee cup in the dishwasher. “The rest of Ula’ula is a lot sunnier and hotter than it is here.”

“Okay!” Siane calls back, and Nanu allows himself to smile a little to himself as he scratches the ear of a Meowth who’d come up to nuzzle at him on the counter.

Whatever the reason he had agreed to play tour guide for the day, he has to admit that he feels a little excited about it, too.

* * *

“So, Kahuna,” Siane grins, standing under the eaves of the police station to stay out of the rain. Nanu glances up from the device he’s trying to operate - apparently called a ride pager - and affixes Siane with what should be a withering gaze, except that she’s in too good of a mood to find it anything other than amusing. “Where to first?”

“If I can get a Charizard to come, we’ll be going to Malie City first,” Nanu grumbles, turning to frown down at the device again. “Pretty sure I just - there we go.”

“You use that thing often, huh?” Siane asks coyly, and Nanu’s eyes flit back up to her, a sharp expression in their red depths - but it vanishes quickly, as soon as Nanu realizes Siane’s teasing is harmless, playful, even.

“Usually I just fly on Honchkrow if I’m going any distance, but I can’t ask him to carry both of us,” Nanu explains.

“Makes sense,” Siane says, shifting on her feet a little. Nanu’s surprised to find himself taking a step closer to her, just in case that little weight shift was a sign of any impending wooziness. But no - she seems steady on her feet, and he’s just worrying too much. “You know, I _am_ a flying-type specialist. I’m sure Fearow could carry me.”

Nanu frowns at this. 

“No. I’d feel better if you were on the Ride Pager Charizard. They come with this, kind of a saddle thing,” Nanu explains, trying to gesture with his hands to indicate what he was talking about. “You’ll be safer on that.”

The unspoken implication of the hazards of Siane’s unpredictable weakness hangs between them for a moment.

“So what’s in Malie City?” Siane finally asks.

“Well, there’s the Malie Garden, and the architecture is pretty spectacular in the city. It’s right on the ocean, too, so you’ll get to see that. Plus I figured we could pick up some takeout to have for lunch later,” Nanu shrugs.

“Yeah? Like, a picnic?” Siane asks, sounding a little excited. A lopsided smile pulls at Nanu’s lips, but he smooths it over in a flash.

“Something like that. Mount Hokulani isn’t far from the city, so we can take a bus to the observatory if you’d like,” Nanu continues, thinking through his last-minute plans for the day out loud.

“I wanna see this desert you claim exists here, too,” Siane says, giving Nanu another teasing grin. Nanu only frowns at her words.

“The desert is halfway across the island, Siane,” he says. “And the conditions there are harsh. Neither of us are really sure how much you’ll be up to…”

Siane’s face falls, and to Nanu’s surprise, he actually trails off instead of hammering his point home, like he usually would. He grimaces and glances away, scanning the cloudy skies for any sign of the Charizard he’d called. Nothing yet, of course.

“We’ll see how the day goes,” Nanu concludes. Even as he continues to look away from the young woman by his side, he’s surprised to hear himself softening his own words for her.

_Must be getting soft in my old age_ , he thinks to himself, grimacing again.

A long silence stretches out between the two of them, but Nanu can sense the way she continues to shift her weight a little, clearly regaining her sense of anticipation for the day ahead. Nanu is happy to stay quiet and listen to the rain, which pours off the eaves over them and trickles to the ground in great drops.

Finally, he sees a winged figure approaching through the clouds - Charizard. He puts one hand up to wave it down, though he knows it’s likely unnecessary - all Ride Pager Charizards know the Island exceptionally well. Siane looks to him, then back to the approaching Pokemon, and decides to mimic him, waving it down as well.

Hmm. Cute.

Nanu’s eyes widen at the thought. Had he - had he just thought she was cute? No. Acerola was cute. Meowth was cute. A grown young woman relying on him for safety and protection could absolutely not, under any circumstances, be _cute_.

Charizard lands with a happy roar of greeting, and Siane’s eyes light up at the sight. She glances over to Nanu, a brilliant smile on her face, and exclaims,

“Are you seeing this? He’s got a saddle! And I’ve never seen a Charizard so orange before! Their faces are different in Aedis, too!”

Before Nanu can reply, she hustles over to the Charizard, approaching him politely and letting him sniff her while she continues to coo over him. Nanu rolls his eyes, but ultimately smiles to himself. If she thinks _this_ is exciting, she’s gonna have an amazing day ahead.


	2. Chapter 2

“That was _brilliant_ ,” Siane declares, hopping off the Charizard’s saddle. “Thank you so much! You were amazing! And the saddle really was helpful,” Siane adds, hopping around to give the Charizard a gentle pet on the snout.

“Here,” Nanu says, fishing some Poke Beans out of his pocket. “You can give him a couple as thanks. Not too many, though,” he adds, handing them over to Siane. Truthfully, his heart had been hammering out of his chest the entire time Siane had been flying on Charizard’s back. The fear that something might go wrong and she might lose her grip, or pass out and fall, had been forefront in his mind the entire time, and he’d urged Honchkrow to fly as close to Charizard as possible. As if he could catch her if something went wrong, he thinks to himself, then pushes the morbid thought aside. Siane’s okay, and that’s what matters.

“Thank you so much,” Siane says, holding her hand out flat with the Pokebeans on top of it. The Charizard nibbles them up, then taps her with its nose affectionately. “Have a good rest of your workday, okay?”

“Char,” the Ride Pager Pokemon agrees, then turns to take off to go to its next job.

“That was the first time I’ve flown in…I don’t know how long,” Siane says, turning around to grin at Nanu. Her hair is a little wild from the wind and altitude, but she looks absolutely radiant. If that’s how passionate one little flight could make her, Nanu thinks it’s no surprise that she decided to specialize in Flying type Pokemon. “It felt amazing.” Still smiling, Siane turns to take in the cityscape around her. “So, this is Malie City, huh?” She muses, drifting towards one of the great gates that mark the start of the main street.

“The one and only,” Nanu says, a little swell of pride bubbling up in his chest.

“The architecture _is_ really cool here,” Siane agrees, touching the cool stone of the gate.

“Glad you think so, girl,” Nanu says, taking a couple steps closer to her. Was it just his imagination, or had she been a little wobbly on that step just then?

“You said this city’s on the ocean?” Siane prompts, a curious look on her face as she looks around.

“Yeah. You’ll have to make it down the main street a ways,” Nanu says, eyeing her appraisingly. The look flares something up in Siane, though, and she sucks in a deep breath, puffing her chest out a little.

“That’s not gonna be a problem,” she says confidently. Nanu chuckles.

“Glad to hear it. Let me give you the tour along the way, then. There’s a lot to see in the city,” Nanu says, taking a tentative step down the road. To his relief, Siane follows and lingers close to him as she walks.

Nanu points out some of the major shops and landmarks as the two of them walk by, including the glittering Malie Library and, in the distance, the Kantonian Gym.

“It’s lovely,” Siane breathes, taking in the structure.

“Hey, my favorite restaurant is actually coming up soon. They specialize in really high-end sushi…that sound like the sort of thing you might like?” Nanu asks, quirking one eyebrow in Siane’s direction.

“Yeah, that sounds nice,” Siane agrees. “I can pay for my half.”

To her surprise, Nanu waves her off quickly.

“Don’t worry about that, Siane,” he grumbles.

“It’s really fine,” she insists. Nanu frowns for a moment, then slows his pace until he’s paused in his tracks entirely. Siane stops beside him; she thinks she’s doing a good job of concealing the confusion on her face, but Nanu can see through her facade easily.

“This place…isn’t cheap,” he says carefully. “I wouldn’t have mentioned it if I wasn’t okay with paying your half.”

“What do you mean by not cheap?” Siane asks pointedly.

“I mean…it’s probably the most expensive restaurant in the region. They don’t usually do takeout, but Sensei knows me pretty well by now, so I figure they might make an exception for me,” Nanu says with a shrug, trying to play it cool. It doesn’t work particularly well, though, and he watches as nearly every emotion in the book passes over Siane’s face. The most expensive restaurant in the region…by the looks of some of these amazingly dazzling buildings, Siane figures that probably means that a single meal cost more than an entire year of groceries for herself typically would.

“I - I don’t usually… _do_ expensive things. It - things weren’t like that for me over in Aedis,” Siane finally says. Nanu waits for her to elaborate, but when she doesn’t continue, he finally speaks up.

“Well - we don’t have to eat there, if it makes you uncomfortable,” he concedes. “But if you did want to try something really nice for once…I’d be happy to treat you.” Even he’s a little surprised by how much he allows his voice to soften as he says the words, and he watches Siane’s eyes widen a little - whether at his tone or the offer, or both, he can’t tell for certain.

“Um, well,” Siane stammers, clearly thinking a mile a minute. “Maybe…just once?”

Nanu smiles and nods and begins to walk again, checking over his shoulder to make sure that Siane is coming along as well. She’s staying close - good.

“You wanna stop and grab our food before or after seeing the ocean around Ula’ula?” Nanu asks, though he’s pretty sure he already knows what the answer will be.

“Ocean first,” Siane beams, and Nanu feels his smile grow just a little more.

* * *

“It’s so warm,” Siane sighs, sitting at the end of a pier and dipping her toes in the water.

“Everything’s warm here, girl,” Nanu says, though his words have no real edge to them. 

“It’s nice. I really like it here,” Siane admits, one foot kicking up a small splash. The water droplets sparkle in the sun as they fall. She watches them, then raises her eyes to the distant horizon where seat met sky. Nanu watches her, noticing the way the brilliance of the ocean reflects in her eyes. “Everything is so…peaceful here. It’s, um. It’s nice.”

Nanu feels his eyebrows crease; he doesn’t know everything that’s happened in Aedis, but from what he’s able to piece together, Siane’s struggled with conflict nearly her whole life. The thought that a single day out, with no cares in the world imminent on her shoulders, could mean so much to her tugs at Nanu’s heartstrings, and he puts his arm around her shoulders in much the same way he would comfort Acerola. Except, somehow, it doesn’t feel entirely like comforting little Ace - but Nanu pushes that thought out of his mind for now.

“It is nice, here,” Nanu agrees. Siane turns those eyes of hers on him, and he adds quickly, “I’m glad you enjoy it.” Then, he pulls his arm away and moves away just a little, clearing his throat. “As you know, I work extremely hard to keep Alola as peaceful as it is,” he says with a wry smirk; his words have the intended effect, and Siane dissolves into unabashed laughter.

“Yes,” she says between laughs. “Your duties just have you running all over the island, trying to fight crime and dangerous monsters twenty-four-seven. And you get absolutely no naps.”

Nanu feels his smirk falter a little, because there _was_ a time where he was running all over the island, and fighting Ultra Beasts, and trying to be the best Interpol officer he could be.

And what did it get him? What did it get _her_ , besides chewed up by Guzzlord, never to be seen again?

“Yeah,” Nanu says faintly, turning away from Siane to look out at the ocean. “No naps.” He hears the tremble in his own voice, and hates it.

Siane notices - of course she does, she’s not stupid, Nanu thinks to himself - and scoots a little closer to him once more, putting her hand on his nearest shoulder. She leans into him just the slightest bit, and somehow the contact feels grounding for Nanu. The two of them watch the ocean in silence, and though Nanu waits for her to ask what’s wrong, she stays quiet.

Within a few minutes, the world around him begins to feel a little more real again, the echoes of the past fading in his mind. Siane is still peaceful and silent beside him, still grounding him with her touch, and he wonders how many other people she’s seen like this, back in Aedis. How many people has she provided her silent support to?

“Let me know when you want to go get sushi,” Nanu says instead.

* * *

Within an hour, they’re heading into the Malie Gardens, little brown bags of sushi in hand. Sensei had complained about how undignified the brown bags were, but had ultimately capitulated to one of his top customer’s request for inconspicuous takeout.

“Oh, wow,” Siane breathes, pushing a big fern aside so she can get a better view of the lush land in front of her. “It’s _gorgeous_ here.” She doesn’t wait for a response, instead pushing forward and approaching the enormous golden-plated bridge that greets the Garden’s visitors. Nanu hastens behind her, both brown baggies cradled in one arm so he can steady her with his free hand if he needs to.

Not that he’s needed to so far today. But better safe than sorry, right?

“Is this real gold?” Siane asks, rubbing the banister of the golden bridge.

“Gold plated,” Nanu shrugs, hovering close by. “It’s supposed to be a sister bridge to one just like it in the Kanto region.”

“It’s lovely,” Siane says, already on her way across it, running her hand over the smooth banister as she goes. 

Suddenly a thunderous noise draws both of their attention, followed by a quick flash of feathers and a multi-colored beak.

“What was that?” Siane asks, already enrapt. Another flash of feathers ensues as the Pokemon circles back around; on its second pass, Nanu is able to identify it.

“That’s a Toucannon,” Nanu says. “You know all the Pikipek you’ve seen? This is their final evolution.”

To his horror, Siane actually sets off at a jog after it. She’d just nearly fallen in the shower literally yesterday, and she was trying to jog today?!

“Its beak looks brilliant,” she gushes. “I need to get a better look at it.”

The Toucannon in question has roosted on a low hanging branch, and eyes Siane carefully as her footfalls carry her across the bridge. Nanu’s already running at nearly full bore, desperate to catch up to her - and to stop her from approaching a particularly strong, angry bird capable of spitting seeds strong enough to break boulders.

Fortunately, Siane stops well in advance of the Pokemon, and Nanu watches, fascinated, as her conservation training seems to kick in.

“Look - it’s got a bunch of Pikipek on the trees behind it. It’s likely trying to protect its family,” she says in hushed tones. “They’re all drilling into that tree, see? There’s probably lots of bug Pokemon inside, because it looks like pretty dead wood. They must not have any issue finding food, because that Toucannon’s beak is in excellent condition.”

“What’s a beak got to do with it?” Nanu asks, not seeing the correlation.

“A healthy, shiny, smooth beak means it’s eating a healthy and variegated diet. Birds that don’t eat well can have all sorts of issues with their beak. And do you see how glossy its feathers are?” She’s enraptured, but respectful. And, Nanu notes, she’s breathing hard, clearly more winded from her little jog than she’d like to admit. “It’s getting lots of essential fatty acids. Super important for feather health. You’ve got a pretty healthy ecosystem here, Kahuna,” she adds, finally turning away from the Toucannon and affixing a brilliant smile on Nanu.

His heart skips a beat.

“Well. Glad to hear your professional assessment,” Nanu says, though he smiles a little back at her, and he actually means the words as he says them. “Now come on, Siane. Let’s go find a place to sit. You’re tiring me out, running me all ragged like this.”

“I’m tiring _you_ out?” Siane says with a laugh, raising her eyebrows. “Come on, Kahuna, you’re a fit man. Don’t pretend this is anything much for you.”

Nanu’s heart does another flip at this.

She thinks he’s fit?

“I’m old,” he says, as much for himself - as a reminder of the one, key difference between them - as for her. “Now let’s go.”

Siane’s smile falters a little, but she falls into step beside him readily.

“You’re not that old,” she pushes.

“Right,” Nanu snorts. “That’s why all my hair is gray. Because I’m not that old.”

“Gray hair looks handsome on you,” she says nonchalantly. “And besides, I bet you’re just the sort of person that started graying early.” When Nanu doesn’t respond, her lips curl into a smile. “I’m right, aren’t I?”

“Do you want to eat by the water?” Nanu deflects. It doesn’t work, though; Siane’s smile only grows. She knows she’s right.

“Sure,” she agrees.

* * *

Sushi by the waters of the Malie Gardens is an altogether peaceful affair. Nanu can see why that little tea shop submitted a zoning request to set up shop right in the middle of the Gardens; tea would be perfect right about now.

“How’s your food?” Nanu asks, turning to Siane. The sun is brilliant on her hair, which flutters just the slightest bit in the breeze.

“It’s…insanely good. This is absolutely the best thing I’ve ever eaten.” She’s been taking really tiny bites of her food, as if to make it last as long as possible. She’s probably eaten only half as much as Nanu has at this point. “I - I didn’t even really know food could _be_ this good. I’ve had good food before! But…” She bites her lip and looks out at the water, and to Nanu’s surprise, little tears spring into her eyes.

If he thought she’d pulled on his heartstrings earlier, he has no words to describe how gut-wrenching it is to see this young woman start to cry.

“Hey, hey,” he says, quickly scooting closer to her. “Hey. Don’t cry, Siane. Don’t cry.” He reaches out to her just as she turns to fold into him, as if it’s the most natural thing in the world to do. And if he’s honest with himself, holding her to his shoulder does feel natural, somehow. As if they had been made to support each other, to comfort each other.

But such a thought was preposterous. Wasn’t it?

She doesn’t break down into outright tears, but the arm wrapped around her shoulders still feels the way she takes a few deep, shuddering breaths.

“I’m sorry,” she says. “Everything here is just…so different than back home. It’s not bad,” she adds quickly, mumbling against his shoulder a little. “It’s actually really great here. And somehow, that hurts worse than if it had been just as bad here as back home. I don’t know if that makes sense,” Siane trails off.

“It does,” Nanu says, grimacing. “Believe me. It does, Siane.” He doesn’t know what to say about the fact that, for all he cares, she doesn’t have to go back. She could stay with him for the rest of the year, if that’s what she wanted. Maybe longer. But she talks about Aedis like she needs to get strong to go back there, so he tries a different tack entirely. “You’ve been through a lot recently. Things must be hard for you. I hope you know…I’m here for you, however I can be.”

Siane pulls away at this, but doesn’t go far. Her face stays close to his, and she manages a small smile for him. Then, to his surprise, she cups his cheek in one hand.

“I do know, Nanu. You’ve been nothing but incredibly kind to me,” she says, her voice low and a little shaky but somehow, so intimate. Nanu feels his jaw drop open, and he wonders for a moment if she’s going to kiss him.

“I - I’d hardly describe myself as incredibly kind,” Nanu stutters. He can’t even remember the last time he’d stuttered.

“Well, I would,” Siane says, and presses a small kiss to his cheek before pulling away. “So thank you.”

Nanu swallows hard, his hand drifting up to touch at the imprint her kiss had left on his skin.

“Yeah. You’re welcome,” he mumbles, and goes back to eating his sushi, too.

He has a lot to think about.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huge thank you to everyone who's been enjoying this fic and an ESPECIALLY huge thank you to HybridDragoness for the wonderful commission!! She actually did some amazing art of her commission, so if anyone who's here reading this hasn't seen it yet, I'll link it below:   
> On Tumblr:   
> https://hybriddragoness.tumblr.com/post/630685034503979008/i-couldnt-resist-drawing-these-scenes-from-the  
> On Twitter:   
> https://twitter.com/HybridDragoness/status/1311279208384004101

“So, observatory next?” Siane asks, once again dipping her feet in the water.

“Hmm,” Nanu hums, checking his watch. The day is ticking by surprisingly fast, and he wants her to see Ula’ula Meadow more than anything else, at this point. “Depends on how fast we can get back to the bus stop. Buses leave for Mount Hokulani every 30 minutes, usually, so…”

“Okay,” Siane agrees, pulling her feet out and picking up the remains of their lunch. She stuffs all the trash into one of the brown bags and goes to pull her shoes back on.

“There should be a trash can right over there. I’ll be right back,” Nanu says, grabbing the brown bag and standing. He’s right; the trash can is still just around the corner, and he drops their garbage in, moseying back to Siane and trying to mull through his thoughts a little.

To his surprise, Siane’s up on her feet and walking to meet him.

“If we’ve gotta make it to the bus stop for the half hour, we’ve gotta hurry, Nanu!” She exclaims, a smile breaking across her features. “C’mon -”

And then Nanu’s heart stops as her legs give out under her and she drops.

He’s close enough to her that he can rush forward and catch her before she hits the ground. She falls mostly onto his shoulder, and his hands support her around her waist. If he weren’t wearing pants, he’d probably have skinned his knees diving for her; as it is all he has is a little bit of fabric burn.

“Siane!” Nanu shouts, gathering the girl up in his arms. He rearranges her slumped form so that he’s almost holding her princess-style. To his relief, she stirs in his arms.

“I went down, huh?” She asks, blinking blearily up at him.

“Yeah,” Nanu says, pressing one hand to her forehead. She’s a little warm, but nothing bad, and he can’t help but cradle her a little closer to his body with his other arm. “You okay?”

“More or less,” she admits. She always seems a little shaken after collapsing, but who can blame her? Nanu figures he would be, too. “Mostly thanks to you. Thanks for catching me.”

“Of course,” Nanu returns, and though he tries to make his voice surly, it just comes across as soft. “I’ll always try to catch you.”

Siane blinks at this admission, then sits up, using Nanu’s shoulders for a little bit of support.

“Well,” she smiles. “Guess that makes you my hero in more ways than one. Now c’mon - help me stand up.”

Nanu obliges in silence, pulling the young woman to her feet easily.

What did “my hero in more ways than one” mean? Did she already consider him her hero?

The thought makes his chest swell with the same sense of pride he’d felt upon imagining showing Siane the island he loved.

“Let’s skip the observatory today,” Nanu says, letting go of Siane, though he lingers closer than ever before - just in case. “You’re getting more worn down from all of this than you’d like to admit.” Siane goes to open her mouth, but Nanu continues, not letting her get a word in edgewise. “Besides - I really want to show you the Ula’ula Meadow today. You’ll like that more than the observatory, anyway.”

“Yeah?” Siane asks, apparently somewhat mollified.

“Yeah. There’s not much to the observatory during the day, anyway. I’ll take you at night sometime.”

Siane smiles and starts to walk; she’s a little unsteady on her feet, so Nanu continues to linger close.

“Is that a promise?” She asks coyly. Nanu snorts, a lopsided smirk pulling at his lips.

“Yeah, Siane. I promise,” he returns, and he wonders why, exactly, it feels like he’s just gotten a pretty young thing to agree to a future date with him.

* * *

“You seemed more excited about the Ride Charizard than you were about the Ride Tauros,” Nanu observes, quirking one eyebrow at Siane as they walk together, approaching Ula’Ula Meadow. He’d been hesitant to put her back on a Charizard again now that she’d dropped once today. At least on a Tauros, the fall would be relatively minimal, and the Pokemon could be urged to walk slowly under the guise of observing the scenery.

“The Ride Tauros was good, too,” Siane says mildly. “And he was great at his job! Very mellow and soothing to ride. It’s just…” Siane trails off for a moment, a smile playing across her lips. “It doesn’t get better than flying, you know?”

Nanu hums in acknowledgement, feeling his lips tug up into a smile in return.

“You’re sure you’re feeling up to walking through the Meadow?” He asks after a beat, holding a tree branch out of the way for Siane as they meander through the thicket that is the entrance to the Ula’Ula’ Meadow. “I could call the Ride Tauros back…”

“No, I’m all right,” Siane insists. “If this place is as gorgeous as you say it is, I want to walk and take it all in. Besides,” she says with a playful smirk. “If I have any issues, I know my big hero will catch me, right?” She bumps Nanu’s shoulder teasingly with her own, walking past him.

Nanu is rooted to the spot for a minute, unable to come up with a response. Big hero? Him?

Finally, he lets go of the tree branch and follows after Siane.

“Yeah,” he mumbles. “Something like that.”

A moment later, the pair step into Ula’ula Meadow proper, and whatever thoughts Nanu had been having about Siane’s quip disappear. This is the moment he’s been waiting for all day - the chance to show off what he, privately, thinks of as the most gorgeous part of the island,

He’s not disappointed. Siane stops dead in her tracks, taking in a sharp breath. Her eyes widen and scan the scenery in front of her, the brilliant colors of the endless fields of dancing flowers reflected in her gaze.

And then a pair of Baile Oricorio swoop and chitter, dancing in the air across the meadow. Another pair follow soon after, their brilliant red and black feathers flashing in the sun, but Nanu isn’t watching them. He’s watching Siane.

A brilliant smile breaks across her face, and she follows the Oricorio until they disappear from sight. Her eyes linger a moment where they’d vanished; then she turns to Nanu, affixing him with the full force of her beauty.

“Did you see them? The four birds?” She asks breathlessly. “They were gorgeous. This whole place is - it’s beyond gorgeous. It feels like a waking dream.”

Nanu feels his stomach twist under the brilliance of her smile, her enthusiasm, and it’s only then that he starts to realize that he’s possibly getting in over his head. He hasn’t felt like _this_ in…so long.

He takes a deep breath in to steady himself and lets it out slowly, a soft smile pulling at his lips.

“I’m glad you like it,” he says. “Ula’ula Meadow is the gem of this island, in my opinion.”

“I can’t believe you’re kahuna of all of this,” she breathes, turning to gesture at the endless flower fields. Nanu ducks his head and puts his hands in his pockets, but Siane continues. “That’s pretty amazing, you know.”

“You’ll make me blush, carrying on like that,” Nanu grumbles, but Siane catches the way he can’t quite suppress that soft smile she’d seen earlier.

“Oh?” Siane says, quirking one eyebrow up at him. “I didn’t even know you could blush. I don’t think I’ve seen you blush once, in the whole time I’ve been with you.” She grins teasingly at him, then steps into the meadow, treading the path carefully. Nanu follows behind her, staying close as always. “I bet you probably turn as red as these flowers when you do blush,” Siane laughs, gesturing at the swaying fields. Nanu snorts, but doesn’t respond. He honestly can’t remember how red he does or doesn’t get when he blushes. In the distance, an Oricorio calls, then darts across the meadow again. “Or as red as those birds,” Siane murmurs, suddenly entranced. “What are they?”

“They’re called Oricorio. They come in several forms across Alola. This is the Baile form,” he explains.

“Fire Type?” Siane guesses.

“Yup. And Flying secondary type,” Nanu affirms. “They actually change form depending on the type of nectar they consume.”

“Really?” Siane asks, the fascination clear in her voice. “That’s pretty interesting, from both a biological and conservation standpoint. I’m going to want to hear more about that. What kind of form changes do they undergo?”

Nanu starts telling her about the types of forms Oricorio come in, and which nectar influences which form, but soon, they’re at a crossroads in the Meadow. Siane pauses just as Nanu’s finishing up about the Sensu Oricorio, and he walks past her, gesturing down the right direction.

“This way to get back home,” he says.

Siane continues to ask Nanu some questions about Oricorio as they walk, especially about the different types of nectar and what ecosystems they thrive in, and the two of them fall into an easy, companionable conversation. Nanu leads the way through the Meadow, which, with its twists and turns, could seem rather maze-like to the unfamiliar.

And then, Siane falls oddly silent, no longer peppering him with little questions or making noises of interest as he talks about the nectar. Nanu glances over his shoulder, concern clenching around his heart - had she fallen, and he’d failed to catch her?

But no - she’s on her feet, just distracted by something. He follows her line of sight, eventually landing on the distant outline of the giant shrine perched in the Lake of the Sunne. Its stone form is impressive, but Nanu can’t help but feel a sense of foreboding as he looks at it, as well.

Some things would be best left alone.

“What’s that?” Siane asks.

“It’s an ancient shrine,” Nanu says, trying to keep his answer as clipped as possible. It doesn’t work - of _course_ it doesn’t, he thinks to himself.

“What kind of shrine?” Siane presses.

Nanu sighs.

“I…don’t know if the shrine itself has a name, anymore. But it’s all a part of the Lake of the Sunne. It’s an ancient cultural site,” he explains.

“Really?” Siane asks, her curiosity growing. Nanu groans internally; this isn’t going well. “We had shrines back home in Aedis. Actually, some of them were connected to the sun, as well.” She takes a few steps towards the path that leads to the Lake, drawn as if by an invisible force.

Nanu’s heart clenches, and he puts one hand on Siane’s shoulder, using enough strength to stop her from advancing any further.

“Where do you think you’re going?” He asks, sounding gruff for the first time all day.

“Well, I was just thinking…there’s a path, and it looks pretty clear,” she suggests, her optimistic expression withering at the darkness that passes over Nanu’s face.

The last thing he’s going to let happen is to allow her to go _there_.

“That place is dangerous, Siane. It’s old and dilapidated and literally falling apart in the water. The last time I was in there,” he starts, then pauses as a cold chill passes over him. He clears his throat, and finds it within himself to continue. “The floor was close to breaking through in some places, and there was a lot of water damage causing frequent rockfalls. I can’t - you can’t - expect yourself to be able to stay safe in a place as dangerous as that. Not while you’re…” he trails off, letting the unfinished implication hang in the air. Siane scowls, and Nanu wonders how deep this rebellious, headstrong streak of hers runs. Would it get her in trouble, in the end? Had it already, back home in Aedis? “Besides,” Nanu murmurs, trying a different tack. He softens the hand on her shoulder, giving her a gentle squeeze instead. “You’re starting to look tired, Siane. Let’s go home together and you can rest up.”

The fire in Siane’s eyes simmers down, and her posture softens.

“I guess I am starting to feel a little worn out,” she admits, her eyes flickering back to the enormous stone building in the distance.

“Let’s finish enjoying our walk, then,” Nanu says, giving her shoulder one more gentle squeeze before turning and leading the way once again. He listens carefully as he walks, and it’s not long before he hears Siane’s footsteps, soft on the ground, trailing after him.

“Nanu?” She asks after just a couple moments.

“Yeah?” He responds, continuing to walk. He wants to get as far away from here as possible; a small part of him is regretting having come to the Meadow at all.

“Will you take me there, sometime? To the Lake of the Sunne?”

“Hmm,” is the only response he gives, and to his relief, Siane doesn’t press any further.

There’s a somewhat heavy silence between them as they continue to walk; he can tell Siane has more questions for him about the shrine, but knows better than to ask. He can hardly blame her - if there were altars to the sun in her homeland, of course she’d be curious about this one, too. Truthfully, even Nanu himself turns over the idea of any correlation in the back of his mind; if the gold bridge in the Malie Gardens had been built as homage to a sister bridge in Kanto, who was to say that there wasn’t a sister shrine to this one in Aedis?

Finally, the path begins to run out, and Nanu can see the thicket that will soon open into Route 17 again. Judging from the very humid air coming out of the trees, it’s likely raining, as usual, on his home route.

“Guess we better get ready to hurry back to the Police Station, or else get soaked,” Nanu grumbles. Siane draws close to him, pausing by his shoulder.

“Guess so,” she says, then sighs. Her eyes cast about the Meadow one more time; she looks sad, pained, even, to have to leave. “Nanu?” She says, her voice quiet. “If you can’t promise to take me to the Lake of the Sunne someday, will you at least promise to take me back here sometime soon? Back to the Meadow?”

There’s no way Nanu can deny her this simple request, especially when she’s got that look in her eyes. She looks like she’s longing for freedom, like she’s afraid of being caged up again.

“Of course, Siane,” he says softly. In the distance, over Route 17, he hears a roll of thunder. The two of them look off to the incoming storm in unison. “Must be getting bad out there,” Nanu murmurs, then glances over at the young woman standing next to him. She’d been working so hard today - working to exhaustion, in fact, if the look in her eyes was anything to judge by. To think that she was going to have to trudge through the cold rain in a moment, with hardly any protection… Nanu shrugs out of his cop jacket.

“What are you doing?” Siane asks, clearly baffled. 

“Here,” he says, handing her the jacket. “I don’t have an umbrella or anything, and I don’t want you getting sick from being out in the rain while you’re run down like this…”

Siane gets the gist of his idea, a smile breaking across her face.

“Thanks, Nanu,” she beams, holding the jacket over her head. “You ready?”

Nanu’s heart skips a beat once again.

“Yeah,” he agrees. Protecting people may be his job, but it doesn’t explain the way his body - or his mind - are responding to this young woman. It doesn’t explain the fact that he feels, in that instant, that he’d follow her nearly anywhere if she asked him.

“Come on!” Siane calls, already jogging ahead and leaving him behind. Nanu sets off after her.

“Be careful!” He urges, but he gets only a laugh in response.

By the time they’re both safe and sound in the shelter of the Po Town Police Station, it’s pouring outside again. They’re both breathless from the jog, though Nanu’s more soaked through than Siane - he’s pleased to see that his jacket served its purpose. He spares a fond smile for her as he closes the door behind them; he can’t help but feel a little proud that she had made it all that way without any difficulty.

The smile she returns for him takes his breath away more than the jog had.

“That was brilliant,” she gushes, dropping his soaked jacket on the floor. The water that’s permeated the fabric splashes a few of his gathering Meowth, who scatter with a hiss. “Not just the long run, either - the whole day. Everything was amazing, Nanu. Thank you so much.” To his shock, she wraps her arms around his shoulders, pulling him briefly into an embrace. His arms manage to come up just in time to embrace her back - but then, she pulls back and is gone, still smiling. “I still don’t believe that there’s a desert out there on this island, though,” she laughs.

“There is,” Nanu insists.

“Doesn’t seem possible,” Siane teases him.

“As Kahuna, I can promise you, it’s there,” Nanu says, his smile growing a little wider.

“Yeah?” Siane asks, “Guess you’ll have to promise to take me there another day, too.”

Nanu laughs and shakes his head.

“Sure,” he acquiesces. “If that’ll make you happy.”

“It will,” Siane agrees, and Nanu is surprised to feel his heart soar at the thought that this brilliant, beautiful young woman might actually want to spend time with him.

What was he getting himself into?


	4. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to everyone who's enjoyed this story, and an even bigger thanks to Hybrid for letting me write these two!! I really enjoyed it and would be honored to write for them anytime! <333

It was later, while feeding his many Meowth and mulling over what to make for dinner for himself and Siane, that Nanu realized something was…off.

The Po Town Police Station was quiet. Unusually quiet. If you ignored the meowing cats looking for a meal, that is.

Ordinarily, this time of day, he’d have a young woman hovering over his shoulder, asking him if she could help with feeding the Meowth, or meal preparation, or holding up some sort of ingredient and asking what kind of dishes he liked to make with it. But now, he’s completely alone.

Nanu finishes doling out the last of the wet Meowth food in a hurry, hustling into the kitchen. Surely she was just poking around in his pantry, curious to see what sort of odds and ends could be put together into a meal today. Maybe she was even trying to cook something herself - a feat which had previously been impossible for her, owing to the way she kept passing out.

But no - she’s nowhere to be found. Nanu’s heart clenches as he suddenly imagines the worst case scenario - perhaps she’d passed out after her shower, and hit her head on something, and she was lying, unconscious on the ground, waiting for him to discover her -

Or, Nanu realizes, rushing out of the kitchen. She’s just fallen sound asleep, on the couch.

The late afternoon sun is peeking out of the clouds for once, and it streams in through the window, hitting Siane’s hair and skin and casting an almost angelic, golden glow to her. Angelic - now there was a thought. She’d only nearly given him a heart attack with her teasing _how_ many times today?

Still, Nanu thinks, a small smile pulling at his lips. Angelic was the right word for it.

He approaches her, one hand outstretched, as if to touch her and wake her up. At the last minute, he realizes he can’t do it. She’s clearly tired, and he can only imagine how much all that activity must have taken out of her. She hadn’t done so much as a quarter that much walking or jogging on even her best day in the Police Station. Waking her up instead of allowing her to rest would be cruel.

Siane stirs in her sleep, reaching for something - and not finding it. Instead, she turns on her side, a small shiver passing through her body. Was she running a fever? Had she worn herself down into exhaustion? Very gently, Nanu brushes his hand against her forehead. She doesn’t feel any warmer than he does, but she again shivers a little.

She’s a little cold, he realizes, and she doesn’t have any blankets to pull up around her. He can’t fix everything for her, as much as he wishes he could. But he can fix this.

Nanu fetches the blankets she’s been sleeping with, then frowns. They smell like Meowth, and they’re covered in purple hair. Quite clearly, they could use a good washing. Nanu makes a mental note to throw them in his washer in a minute, then goes to his bed to fetch his own blankets. They’re covered in Meowth hair, too - an unavoidable fact of living with his small horde - but at least they smell better. In fact, they smell a little like…him.

He wonders, briefly, if she’d like that.

Then he returns to the couch, draping first one blanket, then a second, carefully over her form. This wakes her up, and she stirs, turning to look up at him and blinking the sleep away from her eyes.

“Hey,” Nanu mumbles. “Didn’t mean to wake you. You just seemed cold.”

“I was,” she agrees, drawing the blankets a little more around herself. “Thank you. That was really sweet of you, Nanu.” Her hand darts out from the blankets and finds his. Her slender fingers slip into his hold, and she gives his hand a gentle squeeze, then pulls away.

“Glad I can help,” Nanu returns, aware that he’s blushing. “Do you want a pillow, too?”

“If you don’t mind,” Siane hums, her eyes already drifting shut.

“Not at all,” Nanu hears himself saying, and then he’s returning to his bed to retrieve one of his pillows, too. He might as well wash her pillowcases while he’s washing her blankets. “Here,” he says once he’s back at the bed. Siane’s almost asleep, but opens her eyes at his words, and lifts her head up.

“Thanks,” she says as Nanu tucks the pillow under her head.

“Of course,” Nanu hums. “Get some rest, okay? Dinner will be waiting for you when you wake up. You must be exhausted from today.” He wants to tell her how strong he thinks she is, but holds back for now.

“Yeah, everything really took it out of me,” Siane admits. “Thanks again, Nanu.”

“Yeah. Sweet dreams,” he murmurs, and actually sets one hand on her forehead gently, pulling it away almost as soon as he realizes what he’s doing. But Siane only smiles up at him, none too perturbed by his actions. Nanu diverts his eyes and begins to walk away, planning to do some laundry, then some cooking, but Siane’s voice stops him in his tracks.

“These blankets smell like you,” she murmurs. Nanu’s heart practically hammers out of his chest.

“Yeah. Sorry. They’re mine -” he starts, but before he can finish, she interrupts him.

“No, don’t apologize. I was mentioning it because it’s nice,” she sighs, then turns on her side, her eyes fluttering shut.

Nanu hears her voice repeating those words over and over as he washers her blankets and pillowcases, and turns over the meaning of them while he cooks. Would there be some sort of way to ask her why she thought it was nice, tonight? Maybe just slip it into conversation when she wakes up and starts eating?

Except Siane doesn’t wake up - she’s out cold. Nanu considers waking her up for food, but again, he can’t bring himself to do it. She seems to need the rest more now. As the evening wears on, turning into night, then late night, he watches TV and puts away the leftovers and throws her blankets in the dryer, but he also notices the way she tosses and turns more and more on that little couch.

There’s no way she’s comfortable on that. And she’d been sleeping on it for how long, at this point? With no complaint?

Nanu’s heart softens, and he scoops her up under her shoulders and knees, standing and holding her princess-style. She stirs a little, but she’s in a deep sleep; all she does is lean her head against his shoulder and actually snuggle a little more into him.

Nanu can’t help but think how cute that little gesture is, and this time, he doesn’t mentally berate himself for thinking of Siane as cute.

He holds her just a little closer, walking over to his bed, and gently lays her down on it, arranging the blankets swaddled around her. She again doesn’t wake, and Nanu feels a little pride in this, in knowing that he could take care of her.

He’ll sleep on the couch tonight, and at some point, they’re going to have to figure out a more comfortable place for Siane to sleep. He imagines, for a brief moment, that she might one day want to sleep in his bed with him in it, but then he reminds himself not to let his hopes get too high.

All the same, he imagines how it would be, to lay next to her, and falls asleep with this thought in his mind.


End file.
